Individual Study Plan
According to the Higher Education Ordinance, all doctoral students are required to have an Individual Study Plan (ISP). The ISP is based on the current subject study plan and involves adapting it to the doctoral student's project.
The ISP is the most important document for the doctoral student as it is meant to safeguard the quality of education and should include KTH's and the doctoral student's commitments, as well as a schedule for the education. It should clarify rights, obligations, and performance requirements for both the doctoral student and the school. The plan should be concrete enough to provide real support and serve as a basis for discussion for the student and supervisors, facilitating the annual follow-up of the studies. The ISP should be detailed for the upcoming year and may be less specific regarding the later part of the education.
The ISP is an official decision that must be reviewed at least once a year and approved by the Director of Third Cycle Education at the school. The doctoral student, supervisor, orDirector of Third Cycle Education have the right to initiate a review of the ISP at any time during the year. Adjustments are made as needed after consultation between the doctoral student and supervisor. The duration of the education may only be extended if there are special reasons.
Since October 2016, Individual Study Plans at KTH have been managed through the eISP system. eISP is a tool for managing the ISP and aims to facilitate communication, updates, approval, and follow-up. Both supervisors, doctoral students, and the Director of Third Cycle Education have access to the materials in eISP.
Employees of KTH can find "eISP - Individual Study Plans" under "services" in the personal menu after logging in to kth.se.
If you cannot find the system there, go to "select services" and check the box for eISP.
Information that must be provided in the eISP
The eISP contains 10 tabs and is developed to meet the needs for a number of different Swedish universities, not all the information asked for applies to PhD-students at the SCI school. Therefore, the school has developed a document with information that must be included.
Download the SCI School's information sheet for eISP here
Frequently Asked Questions about eISP
I can't create an eISP for my new doctoral student, what could be the reason?
The most common reason for not being able to create an eISP for a new doctoral student is that the student has not registered for their doctoral thesis (DOKSCI) in Ladok. Registering for the thesis is something the doctoral student must actively do themselves and is not automatically done through admission.
Furthermore, only the doctoral student's main supervisor can create an eISP. Not the doctoral student themselves, nor the co-supervisor.
We are adding a new co-supervisor in eISP. How is this done and by whom?
First and foremost, a formal decision regarding the new supervisor must be made before adding a new supervisor in eISP. The form for a new supervisor and instructions can be found at the bottom of this page:
intra.kth.se/en/sci/forskarutbildning/stod-och-processer-i/handledare-1.1241657
Ensure that you meet the requirements to be appointed as a co-supervisor.
Once the formal decision is clear and approved, the main supervisor for the concerned doctoral student can add a co-supervisor. Only the main supervisor can add a new supervisor. This is done in section 4.2 of eISP, and the study plan must be in status "Waiting for Supervisor" or status "Created".
If someone is to be a co-supervisor, they also need an eISP account with supervisor authorization. Contact the school's research education administrator fou@sci.kth.se for assistance in ordering a new account.
I'm trying to search for my doctoral student in the eISP system using their personal identification number but get the result "No study plans found". What could be the reason?
When searching for a doctoral student via their personal identification number in eISP, the number must be written in this format: YYYYMMDD-XXXX. If the hyphen is missed, it will not be possible to find the student.
Access to eISP
Individuals who are not employed at KTH, such as prospective doctoral students, industrial doctoral students, scholarship holders, and others, should contact the Doctoral studies officer at the school to obtain an account.
More information about eISP and user manual (the link directs to KTH's central pages).